LA County leaders rebuff Newsom and push for shelter to be offered when clearing encampments

L.A. County’s top elected leaders are pushing back on calls by Gov. Gavin Newsom and others to clear homeless encampments, even when shelter is not available, after the U.S. Supreme Court recently legalized the practice.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the five county supervisors drew a line in the sand. They said they’re not changing the county’s longstanding approach in the jurisdiction they control: unincorporated areas outside of cities, home to about 1 million people.

The county approach emphasizes offering shelter and not allowing county jails to be used to hold people arrested solely for camping in public.

“We're not going to go to a race to the bottom,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis.

“We're not going to use our jails to somehow incarcerate, criminalize people who are just on the street because they're sick, because they have mental illness or substance abuse issues” or are “a domestic violence victim, who knows she may be threatened with her life if she returns to her home, or so-called home,” she added.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who chairs the Board of Supervisors this year, agreed.

“We don't want encampments on our sidewalks,” she said. “But we cannot, nor are we legally allowed to, make jails our de facto housing and shelter.”

Why there are concerns that cities could push people elsewhere

The supervisors said they’re worried some cities could now feel emboldened to push people into other cities or unincorporated areas.

“It is unacceptable for us to play whack-a-mole, and go from city to city,” Sheriff Robert Luna told supervisors. “It is not helpful to any of us.”

“In my district alone, I am very concerned that cities surrounding, for example, unincorporated areas like East L.A. — that they will somehow find suitable to dump people in East LA,” Solis added.

Asked by supervisors what would happen if cities do push people into other areas, county attorneys said those cities could be sued under public nuisance laws.

A push for a 'good neighbor' effort

In an effort to prevent such pushing, supervisors threw their support behind an ongoing effort to have cities commit to “good neighbor” agreements. They would pledge to continue offering shelter when clearing encampments, and not push unhoused people outside their jurisdictions.

One city that’s particularly active in those efforts is Redondo Beach, where the City Council is planning to vote on a good neighbor policy next Tuesday.

A draft of the proposed pledge, distributed last week, would commit to offering shelter and services “as a cornerstone” of their encampment clearing strategies.

It would also pledge to not push people into other cities, saying “such actions do not solve but only relocate the issue.”

“The pledge is another step for cities to work together to humanely and compassionately house people experiencing homelessness,” said Joy Ford, an attorney for Redondo Beach who’s involved in the effort. “This is a regional issue that is not unique to one city or area and we are past ‘moving people along.’ ”

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is backing such efforts as well. Her homelessness chief told county supervisors Tuesday that the mayor hopes “cities in our region will seize this opportunity and create a collaborative regional approach to housing LA county residents across city and unincorporated areas.”

What the governor's order actually does

Much of the supervisors’ discussion Tuesday surrounding Newsom’s high-profile announcement of an executive order to clear encampments.

County officials said it was widely misinterpreted as ordering encampments to be cleared in city and county jurisdictions. The order does not do that.

The order only applies to state-owned properties like state beaches and parks, where a small percentage of encampments are located. It directs those agencies to adopt the procedures currently used to clear encampments on state highway lands controlled by Caltrans.

Those procedures require state officials to give at least 48 hours notice before clearing encampments, store people’s belongings and “request outreach services.” But it does not require that available shelter be offered.

It also encourages — but does not require — cities and counties to adopt similar procedures for encampments in their jurisdictions, where the vast majority of unsheltered people are.

Why county officials say they're "very concerned"

Cheri Todoroff, who leads L.A. County’s homelessness initiatives, told supervisors Tuesday that she and other county officials remain “very concerned” about the governor’s order not requiring shelter to be offered when clearing encampments.

That could push unhoused people from state land into cities and unincorporated areas, county officials said.

“With what the governor is doing, I agree that it's on state property — but it's in L.A. County. So their problem becomes our problem,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger.

Todoroff also said the governor’s timeframe for 48 hours of advance notice is often not enough time to arrange for shelter.

LAist has reached out to Newsom’s office but did not immediately receive a response.

Supervisors criticize governor

Several supervisors expressed frustration at the governor’s recent order and news announcements.

Solis said that over the weekend, she and other supervisors “got frantic press calls about, ‘What does this mean? Are you changing your direction?’”

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Solis said. “Some things are better deliberated at the local level. And oftentimes we're not consulted, unfortunately.”

Other supervisors joined in the criticism.

“You want to go fast, you go alone. You want to go far, we go together,” Supervisor Holly Mitchell said of the governor, quoting a saying she called an African proverb.

“Setting a policy that another level of government is expected to operationalize through executive order or press releases is not helpful. That's just not helpful,” she added.

No signs yet of state ramping up enforcement in L.A. area

The governor’s announcement last week prompted media reports that thousands of encampments would be cleared out across the state.

However, in L.A. County — home to half of the state’s unsheltered population — officials said they haven’t seen or heard any indications that the state is planning to ramp up enforcement.

“I have not heard yet of an increase in those or have witnessed that yet,” Todoroff, the county government’s top homelessness official, told supervisors Tuesday.

Luna said he’s been in touch with his counterpart at the California Highway Patrol and is “still trying to work through a lot of these details” of what the state’s plans are.

Newsom’s office hasn’t responded to a request Wednesday for an update on whether they plan to increase encampment clearings.